Last year at WWDC, Apple said that High Sierra would be the last version of macOS to run 32-bit apps “without compromise.” The recently released macOS 10.13.4 takes the next step in that direction by alerting users the first time they launch a 32-bit app. Here’s what we know.
The iPad versions of Pages, Numbers, and Keynote gain Apple Pencil support for drawing and writing, along with Smart Annotations. Also, Pages has new ebook creation features.
Is your Finder sputtering and freezing? Josh Centers solved his Finder problems by cleaning out his Downloads folder and toggling Dropbox’s Finder integration.
Not every HomePod owner is a music addict, and even those who are will likely want their speakers to do other stuff. Julio Ojeda-Zapata has explored ways to tap the HomePod and Siri for information consumption, personal management, and other uses. For context, he compares the HomePod’s capabilities and Siri performance to equivalent features in competing Amazon Echo and Google Home smart speakers.
Apple has announced WWDC 2018 dates and that the location will remain in San Jose. If you’re interested in attending, get your name in the lottery by March 22nd.
For anyone who needs to print in situations where there are no power outlets and where cables would be fussy, the battery-powered, Wi-Fi-enabled Canon Pixma iP110 is a reasonably priced, robust solution.
In a move that has surprised few, Apple has announced via a support note that it will be deprecating nearly all the remaining services in macOS Server. In the future, macOS Server will “focus on management of computers, devices, and storage on your network.” Time to start looking for alternatives for everything else macOS Server does for you.
If you need to enter numbers, dates, or times into your Mac by hand, there’s an easier way than typing them in with your keyboard. Instead, try dictating them into your iPhone or iPad!
We reported previously that Apple had started banning apps built using templates or app generators — tools relied on by small businesses and organizations that couldn’t afford their own developers. After significant criticism, Apple has now revised its rules with a compromise: templated apps are kosher, as long as they are issued by the provider of the app’s content, rather than the company that makes the app generator. That will require such organizations to pay for the $99-per-year Apple Developer Program. Separately, Apple said it would start waiving the developer fee for nonprofits and government agencies in early 2018.
Apple has indeed shipped the iMac Pro before the end of 2017. Josh Centers outlines the cost, features, and optional add-ons. It’s not cheap, but if you know you need the performance, price likely isn’t that much of an issue.
After six years of development, ProVUE software has released Panorama X for macOS — a completely rewritten and modernized version of the powerful relational database that was one of the first Mac apps. Joe Kissell explores its capabilities, old and new, and muses on who would benefit from this tool.
All the emphasis in the Apple world these days seems to focus on individual users with their own devices. But it’s worth keeping in mind that Apple devices of all stripes are being used in huge quantities by large organizations. Adam Engst attended the recent Jamf Nation User Conference in Minneapolis and shares his takeaway.
Pastebot is a persistent clipboard manager that lets you retrieve, store, and manage everything you cut, copy, and paste.
Do you have a single file that’s stuck while syncing with Dropbox? Here’s the solution.
Contact management is boring, and Apple’s Contacts app is terrible. That’s why the new Cardhop app from Flexibits might catch your fancy — it’s easily accessed, attractive, and quick to use via its natural language parser.